HEAVYARMS

HEAVYARMS

Another kit for the Gundam Wing collection and this time its the Heavyarms EW version! Off the bat, I need to admit that I lost the strip needed to make the ammo belt that connects to the gatling gun. Luckily, it’s one of the additions to the EW version that wasn’t present in the TV version, so it’s not a huge loss.

The Heavyarms is one of those detail-oriented kits where you have the option of painting the smaller details like the missile pods. I enjoyed this aspect of the kit and painted all the missile pods and parts of the gatling gun/chest vulcans. It certainly makes flipping all the panels on the kit to see all the fine details more satisfying! I also tried to give some color separation to the white colors by painting some parts with Tamiya insignia white.

The kit has some good articulation in both the arms, legs and waist. However, the part of the kit that suffers the most, is sadly one of its main attractions; the gatling gun. The gatling gun is massive and the short arm of the Heavyarms will have a lot of trouble holding the gatling gun up with just one arm. To make matters worse, getting the gatling gun to fit securely in its hand is a chore in itself, with the thumb manipulator constantly getting in the way of placing the gun into the hand. If you want to pose the kit with the gatling gun using only one hand to hold it, the kit will have some balance problems due to the excess weight of the gatling gun being put on one arm and fall over unless you use a stand.

Gripes aside, the Heavyarms EW version is a fun build that has a pretty unique gimmick that I’ve only really seen used in the Buster Gundam from Gundam Seed and the Leopard Gundam from Gundam X. I was able to get some great shots showcasing the Heavyarm’s firepower by using effect parts and a spare Leo! Now that I have the have the 5 main Gundam Wing suits, I’ll probably take a photo shoot with all the boys together at some point. Too bad they can’t all fit inside my photo booth!

Kit review and build details following the image gallery. Enjoy!

Front

Rear

Action Sequence

Sandrock teamup

Gatling Gun and Missile pods

Kit Review:PROS:

Lots of intricate details to paint and panel line

Good Articulation and fun gimmick

Fairly small sticker sheet

Unique design

CONS:

Difficult to balance the weight of the kit without a stand

Arm has difficulty supporting the weight of the Gatling gun AND holding it in its hands